seatec - Finnish marine technology review 2/2014 | Page 40

delivery in fall 2015, Norwegian Escape will be the largest ship in the Norwegian fleet. Norwegian Escape will be 10th ship that Meyer Werft has built for Norwegian Cruise Line within the last 15 years. She will homeport year-round in Miami and sail a seven-day Eastern Caribbean itinerary starting November 2015. Norwegian’s two Breakaway Plus class ships, Norwegian Escape and Norwegian Bliss, will be approximately 163,000 gross tons and offer 4 200 passenger berths. Norwegian Escape will boast all of exciting and innovative features found on Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway, plus a number of new spaces and interactive experiences that are yet to be announced. All and all, Meyer Werft’s order book features seven cruise ships, safeguarding employment of the shipyard up to the end of 2017. The latest order was placed in February by Star Cruises, the leading cruise company in Asia. The 150,000 GT vessel in question will increase Star Cruises fleet to eight ships – giving further proof to the notion that the future of cruise lies in the East. SAMI J.ANTEROINEN 38 seatec 2/2014